Trial reportPublic health nutrition2019
Participation in structured programming may prevent unhealthy weight gain during the summer in school-aged children from low-income neighbourhoods: feasibility, fidelity and preliminary efficacy findings from the Camp NERF study.
Trial report in Public health nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions for the prevention of weight gain during festive and holiday periods in children and adults: A systematic review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Health effects of children's summer holiday programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of free summer day camp on physical activity behaviors and screentime of elementary-age children from low-income households: a randomized clinical trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- Free summer programming on elementary-aged children's food and beverage consumption: a randomized clinical trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- The Cost Effectiveness of a Free Summer Day Camp Voucher Program to Prevent Summer Weight Gain Among Children From Disadvantaged Households.American journal of preventive medicine · 2025Trial
- Testing the effect of summer camp on excess summer weight gain in youth from low-income households: a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2020Trial
- Differences in children's food and beverage consumption between school and summer: three-year findings from the what's UP (Undermining Prevention) with summer observational cohort study.BMC public health · 2025Observational
- Protocol for a randomized controlled dose response trial to combat accelerated summer BMI gain in children: The Determining the Optimal amount of Structured Environments (DOSE) study.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- A scoping review of community-based summer interventions with a nutrition assistance component aiming to improve children's weight-related outcomes.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Effect of Summer Holiday Programs on Children's Mental Health and Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Patterns of participation in summer programming among United States' elementary children from low-income urban households: Results from the project SWEAT study.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- Leveraging seasonality and timing to optimize pediatric weight management interventions: Novel directions for future research.Obesity science & practice · 2023Article
- Evidence Base Update on Behavioral Treatments for Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents.Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53 · 2023Review
- School Health Education Program in Pakistan (SHEPP): findings from a feasibility trial in pre-adolescent school children from a lower middle-income country.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2023Article
- Healthy Summer Learners: An explanatory mixed methods study and process evaluation.Evaluation and program planning · 2022Article
- Impact of a year-round school calendar on children's BMI and fitness: Final outcomes from a natural experiment.Pediatric obesity · 2021Article
- The potential of a year-round school calendar for maintaining children's weight status and fitness: Preliminary outcomes from a natural experiment.Journal of sport and health science · 2020Observational
- Impact of Year-Round and Traditional School Schedules on Summer Weight Gain and Fitness Loss.Childhood obesity (Print) · 2019Article
- The need for synergy between biological and behavioral approaches to address accelerated weight gain during the summer in children.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2019Article
- Behavioral and social routines and biological rhythms in prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity.The American psychologistReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveEvaluate the feasibility, fidelity and preliminary efficacy of Camp NERF to prevent unhealthy weight gain and promote healthy behaviours in children during the summer.
designCamp NERF was an 8-week, multicomponent, theory-based programme coupled with the US Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program. Twelve eligible elementary-school sites were randomized to one of three treatment groups: (i) Active Control (non-nutrition, -physical activity (PA), -mental health); (ii) Standard Care (nutrition and PA); or (iii) Enhanced Care (nutrition and PA, plus cognitive behavioural techniques) programming. Efficacy was determined by assessing mean change by group in child outcomes using hierarchical linear regression models.
settingLow-income, urban neighbourhoods in Columbus, OH, USA.ParticipantsEconomically disadvantaged, racial minority children of elementary school age (kindergarten-5th grade).
resultsEighty-seven child-caregiver dyads consented; eighty-one completed pre- and post-intervention assessments resulting in a 93·10 % retention rate. Delivery of the intended lesson occurred 79-90 % of the time. Of the children, 56·98 % (n 49) were female; 89·53 % (n 77) were Black. Overall mean change in BMI Z-score from baseline to post-intervention was -0·03 (se 0·05); change in BMI Z-score did not differ significantly between treatment group. Change in nutrition, PA, mental health or psychosocial outcomes did not differ between groups.
conclusionsResults from the current study demonstrate feasibility and fidelity, yet no intervention effect of Camp NERF. Instead, findings suggest that participation in structured programming of any type (health behaviour-related or not) may prevent unhealthy summer weight gain. Additional studies are needed to confirm findings. Results have implications for child nutrition policy addressing the issue of summer health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.